“This restaurant is closed,” a sign posted on the front door stated. “Thank you for generations of memories.”

Changing consumer tastes and fewer lunch customers played a role in the decision to shut down operations at the Big Boy, said Keith Sirois, chief executive officer for the Warren-based Big Boy Restaurants International, L.L.C.

Sirois said the eatery closed after the last shift on Sunday night.

“Every year, as we get to the latter part of the year, we review our plans for the following year,” he said. “The Mount Clemens store was one of those that kept under-performing. We made the decision to close it down.”

Fourteen of the restaurant’s 15 employees were placed with nearby Big Boy stores, he said.

George Curis opened the Big Boy back in 1977 on a vacant parcel of land, one of two built in Mount Clemens. The one on North Broadway Street opened in 1969 and closed about 20 years ago.

Curis sold the Groesbeck store business to the Big Boy corporation, but remained the landlord for the property.

“I got a call last Friday from them indicating they had made a business decision to close,” Curis said. “I was caught off guard. But they felt the time was right.”

Curis, who still owns a Big Boy on 23 Mile Road in Chesterfield Township, said it was sad to hear of the Mount Clemens store closure.

“We had all kinds of customers there,” Curis recalled. “There was a wide range of people, from singles to families, from older folks to young ones. Mount Clemens was very good to us.”

The property is for sale and there are no plans yet announced for the site, said Mount Clemens Mayor Barb Dempsey.

“I was surprised to hear about it. It’s been there for so many years,” she said.

Asked if the property would be attractive to a potential developer, Dempsey said: “I hope so. It’s on a main thoroughfare, which should be an ideal location, whether for a restaurant or some other use.”